RORY McILROY is confident the Ryder Cup will return to European hands later this year in Paris.

McIlroy is a near certainty to make Thomas Bjorn's side whether or not he qualifies automatically.

He returns to competition this week in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi excited to be again fully fit and also brimming with confidence.

And after the disappointment of Hazeltine, and the first time McIlroy had been on a losing European Team, the four-time Major winner has fired his first 2018 Ryder Cup warning shot over the bows of the cock-a-hoop Americans after they won 17-11 two years ago and then demolished their International Team Presidents Cup rivals 19-11 late last year.

But while Hazeltine played right into the hands of the hosts, the French Le National layout on the outskirts of Versaille will be a 'different kettle of fish' declares McIlroy ahead of this week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

"Look, the Americans are very strong, and I think for the first time in a long time, they have a real cohesion," said McIlroy.

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"All the younger guys get along great. Jordan, J.T., Rickie, Brooks, DJ, Patrick Reed, Daniel Berger, they all get on really, really well. There's a real core group of players there, young players, that will be around for a long time. So they are going to be very strong.

"But if you look at Hazeltine last time and how they set that golf course up: Big wide fairways, no enough, pins in the middle of greens; it wasn't set up for the way the Europeans like to play. I think Paris will be a completely different kettle of fish, so I think it will be so different.

"So I'm confident. I obviously need to make the team first, but everything being all well and good, I'll be on that team and I feel like we'll have a really good chance.

"The Americans have been obviously very buoyant about their chances and whatever, but you know, it's never as easy as that, even when Europe was winning six of eight or five of seven en, whatever it was, they were all closer than - overall, yes, Europe won and it looked dominant for a while, but the matches were always closer than that.

"The Ryder Cup's always close. It always comes down to a few key moments, and it will be no different in Paris. But I think we'll have a great team and it definitely won't be as easy as they think it's going to be."

McIlroy tees-up this week in the first two events in the UAE and in what will be a litmus test of his form ahead of an unprecedented eight tournaments he will contest leading up to April's Masters.

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Rory McIlroy (right) at the 2016 Ryder Cup

"The next two weeks will be a big learning curve, just to see where I'm at," he said.

"I'm obviously coming into the events trying to play as well as I can and trying to compete and trying to win, but I think there will definitely be things - I'll walk away from the two events and I'll have things to work on and maybe think about going into that stretch in the States.

"I can't really answer what I want to walk away with, but I think it will be quite revealing the next two weeks to see where I'm at with my game."